Court: Not forcing nursing care isn’t neglect

SEATTLE — The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the guardian of an elderly Pierce County woman was not negligent when she didn’t force her into a nursing home against her wishes.

The court explained in the unanimous ruling that even if the bed-bound woman could have gotten better care in such an institution, she should not have been forced to move into one. Following her wishes was not neglect.

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Washington Court of Appeals, citing the Legislature’s mandate against placing incapacitated persons against their will.

The court did not agree with the guardian, however, that she was entitled to be reimbursed for her attorney’s fees. The justices said the Department of Social and Health Services was justified in its investigation, but incorrect in its findings.

The guardian’s attorney, Jeff Crollard, said he thought the Supreme Court decision will be a good guide for guardians in the future.

“I think, in a very sensitive and comprehensive way, the court affirmed the difficulty of the circumstances,” he said. “I don’t think she (Raven) acted perfectly, but I think she did a pretty darn good job.”

The Department of Social and Health Services said the case highlights of the challenges of caring for the elderly.

“The justices indicated that everyone concerned was sincerely acting with the best interests of this elderly woman at heart,” DSHS spokesman Thomas Shapley said. “ It’s an opportunity for all of us to think about and plan for how we will care for our family elders and how we will want to be cared for ourselves.”

The elderly woman, whom the court calls Ida in its ruling, is described as a retired nurse with a long history of independence and reliance on naturopathic and alternative medicine. Since a fall that fractured a bone in her knee, she had suffered from chronic pain as well as several serious and debilitating ailments.

“Ida was resistant to medical care and was combative, violent, hostile and uncooperative with her caregivers,” Justice Debra L. Stephens wrote in the court’s opinion on Resa Raven v. Department of Social and Health Services. Her medical history shows ups and downs, including medical crises and episodes of neglect.

She was assigned a guardian, Resa Raven, in 2004, at the age of 83. After reviewing her medical history and talking with Ida and her family, the guardian identified in the ruling as Raven determined that when Ida was competent, she consistently refused to be placed in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

Ida’s health and health care continued to be inconsistent and her behavior continued to be combative, which made keeping caregivers more challenging.

“One of the difficulties of this case from the perspective of Ida’s care team is that Ida often required more care than could be delivered in a home setting,” Stephens wrote. “But in matters of consent, though a ward may choose a course of action that would strike many as unreasonable, if the guardian can determine that the ward would choose such an action if competent, the guardian is bound to advocate for that position.”

Raven sued the state after DSHS determined she had failed as a guardian and neglected Ida.

The Supreme Court ruling cites previous cases that endorsed a similar ruling, including a decision from 1984 in which a guardian sought a court ruling to force a woman to have a laryngectomy for cancer treatment instead of her preference for radiation.

The court ruled that even though the guardian’s preference was more likely to be a successful treatment, it would also likely cause her to lose her vocal chords. The goal was to do what the individual would want if she were competent and understand her options, not what most people would do or what the court believes is the wise thing to do.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.